Democrat challenges Missouri rep for House seat: District 8 election facts
Two candidates, including the incumbent, are seeking to represent District 8 in the Missouri House of Representatives.
General elections will be on Nov. 3, and the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. District 8 represents parts of Clay and Clinton counties, including Smithville, Plattsburg and part of Kansas City.
Republican Josh Hurlbert is being challenged by Democratic newcomer Amy Minich. Terms for the Missouri House of Representatives are two years — the elected candidate will assume office in January 2027 and serve through the end of 2028.
Josh Hurlbert
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Party: Republican
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Incumbent: Yes
Josh Hurlbert has been District 8's representative for the Missouri House of Representatives since 2022. The incumbent candidate previously served as the Republican representative for District 12 from 2021 to 2022. Redistricting in 2022 majorly altered District 12, moving it entirely with no overlap between the old and new lines. Smithville, Hurlbert's hometown and previously in District 12, became a part of District 8.
Hurlbert has been involved with several committees while in office, including chairing the Transportation Committee and vice-chairing the Legislative Review Committee since 2025. He also has been assigned to the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee since 2023. Before serving in office, Hurlbert was a senior field representative for U.S. Congressman Sam Graves for 11 years.
He served one term on the Smithville Board of Alderman in 2018 and is a past president of the Smithville Rotary Club, where he's been a member since 2011.
The candidate's endorsements include the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Missouri Farm Bureau.
Last year, he co-sponsored the Missouri REINS Act, which requires approval from the Missouri General Assembly for agency regulations costing $250,000 or more per year. When assigned to chair the Transportation Committee, he backed a then-new $2.8 billion proposal to expand I-70 to six lanes across the state.
Since being elected to the House, he has sponsored several education bills in support of homeschooled children, which his kids are, and the expansion of availability and provisions of Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts , which provides tax credits for private donations funding K-12 student scholarships.
Amy Minich
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Party: Democrat
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Incumbent: No
Amy Minich is breaking into the political scene in her first government election this year. The Democratic candidate chose to run after seeing legislation be approved that would affect her and her neighbors, family and friends in rural Missouri. The Clinton County resident says she's running to give those voices a "seat at the table."
She has been politically involved through the Women's Political Caucus, Access Missouri and the Missouri Voter Protection League. She volunteered to be an organizer for the 2024 Women's March and No Kings protests in the Kansas City area.
She also gathers signatures for advocacy groups Respect Missouri Voters , advocating against the passing of Amendment 4 targeting the state's petition process, and People Not Politicians , targeting "radical" gerrymandering.
Top priorities for Minich include access to affordable healthcare, investment in public education and giving locals affected by small-town data centers a voice to oppose their expansion.
Minich is strongly tied to unions like the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, or United Auto Workers. She's been a member for 12 years through her body fitting job at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant.
Her union tie has seeped into her campaign — alongside UAW workers' existing practice, Minich and her supporters wear red in solidarity on Wednesdays. As such, she prides herself on being a voice for rural, working-class families.
"It remains an act of showing unity – both to one another and the world. It's not anti-management; it's a positive statement of workers standing together," she wrote in a Facebook post.
Within the union, she's encouraged the local 249 chapter to get involved with the political process, educated other members about issues in workers' rights, and helped other regions organize in the union.
